Happy 8th Day of Christmas!  

Today is also the Holy Day of the Naming of Jesus (more below) and, oh yes, it is the first day of the new secular calendar year. Happy New Year!

On that note…Please join Archbishop Anne and Dr. Colin in enjoying food and fellowship as they welcome us into their home (Bishophurst) today, 2pm – 4pm at 134 Simpson St. in the Soo. 

Robbie Burns Supper!! Thursday, January 25 at St. George in Echo Bay. Contact me for tickets at susan.montague2@gmail.com or 705-253-6456 (just $20 per person). Only 45 will be sold. Please see the attached poster for more information. 

A Liturgical Note For You:

Christmas may feel over according to mainstream society but we’re not done with Christmas yet. Today is the final day of the Octave of Christmas but the Christmas season continues until The Baptism of the Lord. Each day until then, that is not assigned a feast, memorial, or commemoration,  is called a “Christmas Feria”.  Feria comes from the Latin meaning a “free day” and, on the Church calendar, this came to mean a day free from a designated feast, memorial, or commemoration.

More on The Baptism of the Lord (Sunday, January 7):

This Holy Day marks the end of the time called “Christmastide”. This event was originally celebrated on the same day as the Epiphany. In fact, in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Jesus’ baptism remains the integral part of their celebration on January 6th called the Great Feast of the Theophany. Here in the West, we have shifted our focus onto the Wise Men when, in actuality, they are a piece – the message of inclusion of all peoples – in a bigger Story. 

Why is The Baptism of the Lord such a big deal? This feast reveals the Holy Trinity to the world…God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by Saint John the Forerunner, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. And, Jesus’ baptism holds great significance for us as his disciples.  Perhaps you have noticed that the prayers of the people in the BAS for Christmas (the Litany for the Incarnation on page 120) contains the story arc for our salvation in Christ Jesus beginning with the announcement to Mary and ending with Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan. Then we pray for God’s kingdom to become the kingdom on earth.  Like the prayers for Advent, there is transformational theology present in our prayers.  Part of our ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ happens when we pray these prayers together throughout the Christmas season so let us not be quick to discard them as “boring”.  Remember, petitions can be added to the prayers in the BAS.  Here is what the Russian Orthodox church has to say about baptism: “It was the will of God that all who wished to become members of the grace-filled Messianic Kingdom should be baptized. Baptism took on the meaning of a “door” into the Kingdom of God. As the progenitor of the new mankind [sic] that was restored by Him, Jesus Christ was due to enter first into the Kingdom which He was establishing, to open the way to salvation for people, and to teach them to fulfill the will of God. Simultaneously, the Saviour’s immersion in water at the moment of His baptism also had the aim to sanctify baptism, to turn this symbolic rite into a grace-filled, restorative Christian sacrament.”  To read more: http://www.holy-transfiguration.org/library_en/lord_xmas_bapt.html

For Your Devotions:

Monday, January 1st is the Holy Day of The Naming of Jesus. This Holy Day comes eight days after Jesus’ birth (when he would have been circumcised) and, if it falls on a Sunday, it takes precedence over the usual Sunday liturgy since this is a day that has a pre-eminent role in the Paschal Mystery. It is not, however, moved to a Sunday. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua (to deliver/to rescue). Names carry meaning (Susan, for example, is the Hebrew word for ‘lily’) but names are also our identity and carry the power associated with that identity.  Many times over, we are told that the apostles teach, preach, heal, etc., in the name of Jesus – in other words, because of the name of Jesus.  As the popular song says, “There is power in the name of Jesus.”  As our Deliverer, we have many (about 200!) names/titles for Jesus. If you’d like to check some of them out, go here: https://www.gotquestions.org/names-Jesus-Christ.html

Tuesday, January 2nd is the memorial of Basil the Great (379 AD) and Gregory of Nazianzus (389 AD), Bishops and two of the famous Cappadocian Fathers. Basil and Gregory were best friends in the 4th century and were extremely important figures in defending the orthodox faith against various heresies, especially Arianism (the belief that Jesus was semi-divine, a lesser being created by God). Along with Athanasius, these men were also crucial in establishing the place of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity – that the Holy Spirit was, in fact, God.  Without the efforts of these men, it is quite possible that we would not hold our Trinitarian beliefs today. For more info: https://www.dominicanajournal.org/basil-gregory-and-the-holy-spirit/

In the joy of Christ,

Susan